Beyond Settlement - Making Peace Last

As
2008 draws to a close, conflicts continue in Somalia, the eastern DRC, Darfur,
Iraq and Afghanistan, among others. A new book - entitled Beyond Settlement -
examines ways to start the peace process and then continue those efforts long
after civil conflict ends.

In
the forward to Beyond Settlement, former British Deputy Prime Minister
Sir Geoffrey Howe writes that conflicts can occur between nations, ethnic
groups, cultures, philosophies, religions, communities and individuals. But he
says that despite “this inevitable diversity,” two components are needed for
peace. First, there must be a framework for parties to start “speaking and
listening, rather than shouting.” And second, individuals with courage must
participate before, during and after peace negotiations.

Nicholas
Baldwin, dean and director of operations at Wroxton College of Fairleigh
Dickinson University, is co-editor of the book – a collection of writings from
about 20 experts and analysts.

“If
you look around the world, there are so many problems, so many violent
conflicts, if one were to look at conflicts that have been solved or in the
process of being solved, and also look at conflicts that solutions are proving
very difficult, maybe there are lessons to be learned, both positive and negative,
that can be applied in other conflict situations. And if they can, we thought
that was worthwhile in getting out there to a wider public,” he says.

Baldwin says perhaps too much
emphasis has been placed on military force in recent years instead of diplomacy.

“Yes,
I think that’s so. I’m not saying that military solutions are never part of the
picture. And sometimes one needs to get through military conflicts in order to
bring the sides to the table. But a military solution is never a solution in
and of itself. There always has to be other facets to it,” he says.

He
says the peace process must begin from a desire for peace.

“It
comes down to a will on the part of those involved or enough of those involved
and facilitating it from other forces or other actors, if you like. That’s why
I say you need internal and external. And, of course, sometimes the internal
needs a degree of encouragement, both the stick and the carrot, in that sense.
And that’s where I think the book shows that the international community,
governments and other external players can come into the picture,” he says.

Baldwin
and co-editor Vanessa Shields write, “Political, ideological and ethnic
conflicts have resulted in countless deaths, the creation of millions of
refugees and untold human suffering.” One area examined in the book is
institution building, which includes elections, an executive and a legislature.

“You’ve
got to have an element of representation in a system and there are more ways
than one of providing that. But the man and woman in the street, and quite
literally sometimes in the street, have to believe, have to be shown, that
their goals, their needs, their aspirations can be met, not through the barrel
of a gun or stones in a slingshot, but through the principles of
representation,” he says.

One
successful example in moving beyond settlement is South Africa, but problems
remain in Somalia and the eastern DRC, for example.

He
says, “One can look elsewhere in Africa and one can get, of course, deeply
discouraged. But that shouldn’t prevent attempts at trying to move, as I say,
to settlement and beyond to offer a better future to the peoples of all the
countries you mention.”

He says that even if there’s a peace
agreement, parties to the settlement must never assume all issues have been
resolved. It’s an ongoing process that may take many years.

“Northern
Ireland is a case in point. It used to be a dispute that there was no solution
to it. Now, I’m not going to sit here and say that we’re through all of the
difficulties, but my heavens above, we have made progress in Northern Ireland,
which most people thought impossible,” he says.

Baldwin
adds that it wasn’t all that long ago when even Spain was a “very troubled
society” under the Franco dictatorship. So, he says despite current
circumstances, there is always hope.

“There
should always be hope. Yes, always,” he says.

Beyond Settlement: Making Peace Last after Civil
Conflict is published by Fairleigh Dickinson Press.